Posted from Ft. Smith, Arkansas-

I’m excited to be in Arkansas to keynote a conference on leadership.

I’m lucky because audience members have always been interested in my message and what I do as an information marketer.

Lately, however, that curiosity is more of an aggressive interest.

That’s because more and more, people are being asked to take care of themselves.

This persistent request is redefining relationships all over the fruited plain and encouraging all of us to become more independent.

Banks say, “We’re limiting your credit.”  Employers say, “We can no longer match your 401k” and “pay for your own dental insurance.”

This is not an economy problem or a money problem or even a job problem.  It’s a relationship problem.  There are four basic types of relationships:  dependence, co-dependence, interdependence, and independence.
 

The four types of relationships

If you need your boss more than she needs you, it may be in a dependency relationship.  A person usually becomes painfully aware of dependency status when he gets laid off, when the economy slumps, and during periods of high employment.

A co-dependent relationship is even more precarious.  In this situation, you and your employer need each other to succeed.  This reduces the risk of being let go, but it can be a new kind of trap because you can’t leave.

A relationship of interdependency is healthy, but can be difficult to attain and balance over the long term since the dynamics of this kind of relationship can be complicated and involved.

Finally, many people find independence to be extremely rewarding.  Think “financial independence” or the concept of being self-employed.  By the way, being your own boss is not for everybody.

A good balance for most people is having an interdependent relationship with an employer and some sort of independent, supplementary income to make life a little more rewarding and fun.
 

Passive income is a step toward independence

Almost everyone has knowledge worth selling.  By creating and marketing information products, such as books and audio programs, you can easily become a bit more independent, financially and otherwise.

Best of all, you don’t need to quit your job to enjoy extra benefits.

Learn more from my How to Create Information Products audio program, which covers how to create passive income by being a speaker or author.

This CD and 30-page e-book will help you achieve a terrific relationship with yourself.  After all, every day is independence day.

-Michael Angelo Caruso, author of over 75 information products